ITV profit fear amid Brexit uncertainty
BROADCASTING giant ITV has posted a fall in annual earnings and warned that sales and profits will come under pressure amid Brexit uncertainty.
The group booked a 4 per cent drop in underlying earnings to £810m for 2018.
It said Brexit woes are set to see total advertising fall 3pc to 4pc over the first four months of 2019, and down by as much as 17pc in March.
Sales and profits are set to be hit in the half-year as it also comes up against tough comparatives from last year’s Football World Cup boost.
Shares fell 5pc after results. the
The figures came as the company said it was in the ‘concluding phase’ of discussions with the BBC over a new on-demand platform called BritBox to rival the likes of Netflix, and is working towards a formal agreement.
ITV will invest up to £25m in the venture this year and around £40m in 2020.
Chief executive Carolyn McCall said: “We have started 2019 with strong onscreen and online viewing.
“However, the economic and political headwinds for the UK will have an effect on the advertising market and, while ITV is increasingly diversified, remain sensitive to this.”
On a statutory basis, ITV reported a 13pc in pre-tax profits to £567m for 2018.
ITV said profits will also be held back in the first half of 2019 by hefty investments, including in BritBox, as well as around £40m of ‘essential’ previously announced investment.
But it reiterated plans to slash costs by £15m in 2019, and by up to £40m in 2020, to fund its plans.
The results showed ITV’s revenues lifted 3pc to £3.21bn in 2018. we